Medfield Select Board Remands South Street Demolition Appeal to Historical Commission

MEDFIELD -- May 19, 2026, Medfield Select Board remands 13 South Street demolition appeal and approves Lowell Mason House ground lease. The board voted unanimously Tuesday to continue a public hearing on the demolition delay appeal for 13 South Street, a deteriorating structure next to Brothers Marketplace, to June 16, sending the matter back to the Historical Commission for a fresh round of negotiations after attorney Ted Cannon said the ownership had spent 12 years unsuccessfully seeking a buyer or compatible developer. Historical Commission member David Temple said a near-agreement reached in April 2024 had fallen apart when the ownership never submitted agreed-upon rehabilitation details in writing, and co-chair Tom Connors said the commission had "a reasonable factual basis" for imposing the delay given the absence of any documentation of marketing efforts. The board also unanimously approved a 15-year ground lease at $1 per year for the Lowell Mason House Foundation at 59 Green Street, clearing the way to release a $98,700 Massachusetts Cultural Council grant for an ADA-accessible addition to the 18th-century birthplace of American music education advocate Lowell Mason, a lease that had sat unsigned since 2011 Annual Town Meeting authorization. The board voted 2-1 to sign a letter of support for a MassEnergize climate resilience grant, with Select Board member Gus Murphy dissenting on grounds that the organization functions as a net-zero advocacy group rather than a neutral consumer resource.